Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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473. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he is considering revising the way local authorities are funded in view of the fact that there appears to be an imbalance in the way smaller councils are funded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19927/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The funding system that applies to local authorities is a complex one, as authorities derive their income from a variety of sources including commercial rates, charges for goods and services and funding from Central Government.

The monetary amount of each income source to local authorities in the years 2010 - 2015 is set out in Table 1 while Table 2 sets out each revenue income source as a proportion of the total. Table 3 sets out the total capital income over the same period.

Table 1.

Table 2.

*Other income includes: the General Purpose Grants (GPG) which were paid to local authorities until 2014; Local Property Tax (LPT) allocations which commenced in 2015 and replaced GPGs; the County Charge which ceased in 2014 when local authorities and the former town councils merged; and Pension Related Deductions which local authorities retained as income from 2009 to 2015.

Table 3.

Central Government funding of local authorities similarly presents a complex picture, with transfers, both current and capital, coming from a wide range of Departments and Offices, not solely from my Department, for a variety of purposes. Some streams of funding are delivered directly from funding departments to local authorities, while others are routed through departmental agencies. 

The Comptroller and Auditor General reports on the Central Government funding of local authorities as part of his Annual Report. This report provides an overview of the funds flowing from and through central government sources to local authorities and the purposes for which funds have been provided. The latest report, for 2015, is available at the following link: 

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I am satisfied that the current funding model is enabling local authorities to meet an appropriate level of service provision across the State, from the most rural and sparsely populated to the large urban centres. As local authorities vary significantly from one another in terms of size, population, public service demands, infrastructure and income sources, my Department does keep the funding system under constant review and works with all local authorities to ensure the local government sector can meet existing and emerging challenges.